Wright State 68, Valparaiso 56: The wrap-up

No need to rehash the game, it's all below in lengthy,
lengthy form. So to wrap things up here, I'll just post the lead item
to my notebook in Wednesday's paper (which you should still buy, of
course).

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FAIRBORN, Ohio -- Their voices were barely above a whisper, but their
eyes --â€ˆreddened, moistened, a few stray tears still flowing -- spoke
volumes.

Tuesday night's 68-56 loss at Wright State in the first round of the
Horizon League Tournament was the end of two of the most prolific
careers in Valparaiso history.

Jake Diebler set a school record by starting 98 straight games -- every
one since the season debut his sophomore year. And Urule Igbavboa
finishes 20th on VU's all-time points list and seventh on the all-time
rebound list.

On Tuesday, it all came to an end.

"I'm really proud of these two men," VU coach Homer Drew said. "They're
our seniors, they're our leaders. You can see in their eyes and their
tears and their throats how much passion and love they give to this
game of basketball. I admire them. We had a tough, tough year with wins
and losses, but it was not tough with these two guys leading us. It was
a joy to come to practice. And the bond they had with our young
players, having lost a lot of their teammates from last year when we
won 22 games, Iâ€ˆjust can't say enough. It was my privliege and my honor
just to be with these two."

Igbavboa likely follow the more than two dozen Crusaders before him who
played pro ball in Europe. But he'd like more time at Valparaiso, to
finish what he started so long ago.

"It's hard," he said. "I've been with these guys all season long, and
all the way back four years with Jake. Seeing a lot of new faces and
having to leave them after however many games we've just played, it's
really difficult. Because there's nothing you really want to do other
than keep playing with these guys, finally have all of the guys healthy
and have the one season you can remember."

There's no pro career looming for Diebler. His playing days are over.
But he at least took small solace in knowing he'd be coming back the
next two years as a graduate assistant.

"It's tough to know you're not going to play again," he said softly.
"But I'll forever have some gold and brown in me. If anything, it's
very motivating to get to work with and help guys develop so we can
continue the great tradition that we've had here."

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U was 7th in rebounds coming in to the game. But, he ends the season with a career 706 rebounds which moves him up to 5th on the-all time list.

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Mark Lazerus

Sports Editor Mark Lazerus has been honored nationally by the Associated Press
Sports Editors for three straight years, was named one of the top three
columnists in the state for three straight years and has won 17 statewide
writing awards. He covers Valparaiso University men’s basketball,
high school football and high school baseball for the Post-Tribune,
where he’s been since October 2004.